I am not asking anyone to explain (i.e., justify) their vote to me because I do not plan to change my vote.
If you ever see me writing a diary that asks you to justify who you are voting for, know that I am not writing it because I respect you and am open to you changing my mind. No, if I am asking you to justify your vote, it is because I want an opportunity to scrutinize your rationale for weaknesses I can attack as I try to change your mind. Alternatively, I just want to poke and deflate you.
If I ever post a diary asking you to defend your candidate of choice, it is because I have nothing better to do than squander several hours attacking your reasons with brilliant flourishes of superior intellect and wit. Pssht. Consider what you say? Don’t make me laugh. My decision is immutable.
Once I’d savaged your reply into Swiss cheese and scored invisible points to notch into my desk, I’d refresh the page every 60 seconds in anticipation of eviscerating your lame rebuttal. (Any rebuttal would by default be lame.) I’d twist your words to make you look the fool, even though I’d know what you meant. (How could I not with such superior intellect?)
Then I’d wait for the high-fives to land in my tip jar and for the fawning appreciation from my fans who enjoyed watching me strike you. My partners in voting friends and I would commiserate with each other about our opponents’ lack of insight and their broken moral compasses. I’d make it to the rec list, setting me up for a delightful evening of Daily Kos fame! Perhaps I’d even score some tweets and Facebook shares.
I’d proudly puff out my chest as I sat before my computer screen, exulting that I was now part of something bigger than myself, that I had become part of a movement. I’d bask in the accomplishment of getting so many people who already agreed with me to say they agreed with me--out loud! On the Internet!
Just know that if I ever do write a diary asking you to explain/justify/defend who you are voting for, it is not about you. It is all about me and my need to put on a good show.
But I will never write a diary asking you to explain why you are voting for someone else. I assume you are a mature adult who reached your conclusion the same way I did—by considering what is important in your life and determining which candidate would best meet your expectations.
Besides, if I truly wanted to know why you are voting for this or that candidate, I could peruse the hundreds of diaries and comments popping up here every day that argue why candidate X is the best and candidate Y is the worst.
It is obvious that for most people here, changing hearts and minds is a pretext, not a goal. People out to change hearts and minds do not slap their target around before launching into their speech. They do not impugn their reader’s intellect and ethics for starting out from a different perspective. They don’t pretend they have lost the ability to understand clear speech. And they don’t cheer friends on for jeering those they hope to persuade.
No, people who want to change hearts and minds listen and then reflect. Then they respond with sincerity, not sneers. That is what it means to be part of a movement. A real movement isn’t about reeling people in with baited questions so you can club them on the head when they reach the boat.
Not a successful one anyway.